A Cherished Past and a Troubled Future
by A Diamond in the Rough
Summary: James fancies Lily. Lily detests James, and so does her friend Alice. However, when a certain redhead falls for Remus Lupin, things are going to get complicated, and when four people from nineteen years in the future get transported back to 1977, Lily and the Marauders are going to have trouble figuring out where they stand. Read and Review please? I'll give you cookies. RatedK
1. Chapter 1

So, just thought I'd try my hand at a Jily story, tell me what you think!

* * *

I own nothing, all recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling.

* * *

Review! Please! It would make me very happy.

* * *

"Liiillly flower..." came a drawling voice from behind her.

Lily Evans, Head Girl, did not deign to look up. She was sitting on a comfortable armchair in her dormitory and did not intend to let anybody disturb her.

"Oi! Lily! Get your head out of that book!"

Startled, Lily lifted her eyes from the page and turned around in her chair to see her best friend, Alice Selwyn, dancing up and down.

"What...are you doing, Alice?" asked Lily, fearful for her friend's sanity. Alice was wearing her school robes and they were, for some reason, a bright canary yellow. Upon her head was perched a hat shaped like a pineapple. Then she recognized the symptoms of one beleaguered by Itching Powder.

"Potter." said Alice, spitting out the name. Lily nodded.

"Thought so." Lily handed Alice a vial of bright green liquid, which Alice pulled a face at but drank down in one.

"I still don't get how that works every time I get pranked," said Alice, falling onto her bed opposite Lily.

"I told you, I managed to figure out what they put in their potions of theirs. When Potter gave me a cookie in sixth year I took it straight to Slughorn and over three hours we managed to analyze exactly what was in it, and we made the antidote. Which means, as they use the same ingredient every time, if I can remedy that I fix everything." Lily shrugged and went back to her tattered old book, which was called _Charms for the Jinxed; a More Unconventional Way of Dealing With Unfriendly Spells._

"Why are you reading that, anyway?"

"Professor McGonagall's practical, remember? She's always told us that the best way to lift a jinx that transfigured you into something else was with a counterjinx...but I found this book in the library, and apparently before 1562, charms were the best way to go for that. Three counterjinxes were made illegal, though the book doesn't say what they were...apparently they were just too destructive when they go wrong. I was thinking, if I could somehow manage to figure one of them out I could go to the Room of Requirement and try them out, and then I'd have that practical in the bag."

"You'll have it in the bag anyway, you always do, you moron," said Alice affectionately.

"Watch who you're calling a moron," said Lily, mock-sternly, before shrieking. "I have it! I have it! _Inimicus meus incapax. _They actually have one in here!"

"Where'd you get that book anyway?" asked Alice, eyeing the book suspiciously.

"Nicked it out of the Restricted Section," said Lily casually. "I found it wedged behind a bunch of disgusting moldy Potions books...no one can have been around those for years."

"Merlin, Lily. Who made you Head Girl?"

"Um...McGonagall, obviously. Now, come on, I want to get to dinner. Wait, how'd you get pranked again? If it's steak again, I want to know before I eat."

"Water jug in DADA," said Alice.

"Oh...well, that's new. Come on, I don't want to be late."

Unfortunately for the two girls, someone else...or rather, four other people...had decided to come down the boys' staircase at exactly the same time.

"Oh, good evening, my darling Evans. Will you go out with me on Sunday?" said James Potter, Head Boy, resident Toerag, and annoying git.

Lily was silent and kept walking toward the portrait hole.

"Oh, don't be like that, dear!" sang Sirius Black gleefully. "Jamesie here has just been piiiiiiiining over you."

Alice spared them one look of disdain. The two girls kept walking.

"Ev..."

Lily had jumped around so that she was now nose-to-nose with James. "Sod off, Potter! I've got less nauseating things to do than listen to you."

James was silent, trying to work out what she had just said. "Like what?"

"Cleaning the dungeons with my bare hands," said Lily, before turning away and walking out of the common room with Alice.

* * *

At dinner, Lily was sitting next to Ted Tonks. He seemed to be a bit worried throughout the meal. When dessert arrived, Lily turned to face him.

"All right, spit it out, Teddy." The two were very good friends; they and Alice were a sort of threesome. "What's bothering you?"

"You know Andy Black?"

Andy Black, called Andromeda by her vast number of Slytherin relatives, was the most beautiful girl in Ravenclaw house, with wide, sparkling blue eyes, a flawless complexion, long, thick brown hair, and, most beautiful of all, a charming smile that lifted everyone's heart to look at.

"Of course I know Andy Black, who doesn't know Andy Black?" said Lily. "What about her?"

"It's her birthday tomorrow...she's turning eighteen and I'm not sure what to give her."

"Give her a ring whose stone matches her eyes," said Alice, tucking into a plate of peach cobbler.

"No, those are cliche, and she must have had a dozen given to her. Get a really rare book from that new bookshop. I haven't had a chance to go down there yet, and I'm really looking forward to it on Sunday." Lily gave a dreamy sigh.

"You're going with Jordan Halford, right?"

"No...he's going out with Mary Macdonald, where'd you get that idea?" asked Lily.

"You need a date for Sunday though." Alice pointed out.

"Um, why?"

"To get back at Potter! Sheesh! Every time Potter pranks us, you go out with someone with the full understanding between you both that it's just to get back at Potter."

"Ooh, how'd I forget that?" asked Lily, smacking her forehead. "Actually, there's someone I've been wanting to ask out for a bit...since last month...I'm thinking of a real...relationship?"

"You, Lily? You who have never gone out with ANYONE for any reason than just to get on Potter's nerves?"

"Yeah..." She leaned toward Alice and whispered, "Remus."

"He's your type," Alice nodded approvingly. "Bookish, quiet, reserved...you should ask him."

"I will. Tonight."

* * *

That night, Lily waited in agony for the common room to empty. Finally, only Remus was left doing his Defense Against the Dark Arts essay.

"Um, Remus?" she said, looking over at him from her book.

"Yes, Lily?" She liked the way he said her name. Like a friend, not that annoying, 'Evans, will you go out with me?' that James was always spewing.

"I was wondering...would you go out with me to Hogsmeade?" She saw a strange look on his face and backpedaled furiously. "Just as friends, that's all, I want to go to the bookshop and...maybe a butterbeer..."

"Yes, I'd like to. Do you mind if I bring my Transfiguration stuff? I mean, the practical is on Monday, so..."

Lily beamed at him. "I'll bring my book, too. There's a really old spell I wanted to discuss...that'll be great! See you then!"

After awarding him with a dazzling smile, she blushed slightly, and vanished up the girl's staircase.

Remus put his head in his hands and wondered what James was going to say when he found out.

* * *

He didn't really have a reason to.

"Evans asked you out?" asked Sirius in disbelief ten minutes later. "Lily Evans, Jamesie's prized paramour, actually waited for you in the common room and asked you out?"

"Yeah," said Remus, who was feeling a little dazed.

"Bloody hell, mate, Prongs is gonna be mad at you," said Sirius.

"I know. But I really couldn't let her down, and besides, it's just as friends. We'll be bringing out stuff for the practical."

"Only you, Moony," snorted Sirius. "Would ever think of bringing a book on a date."

"It's not a date!" protested Remus. "She said, 'just as friends,' and..."

Sirius snorted again. "Listen, mate, it's a date. She likes you. She just probably got startled by your expression, and that's why she said just as friends."

"Oh." said Remus. Then, "I hope I didn't offend her."

It was just then that James Potter entered the room, groaning and smelling strongly of polish.

"How was detention, Prongs?" asked Sirius.

"Brutal," groaned James. "Filch is a maniac." Then he noticed the way that Sirius and James were looking at him.

"What...what are you guys looking at me like that for?"

"This is going to come as a shock," said Sirius bracingly.

"Yeah..." said Remus, looking faintly sick now. "It will be...it's about Evans."

"Tonight, Lily-flower waited in the common room until she and Moony were the last ones left in it," said Sirius, watching James carefully for signs of desperate behavior. "And she asked Moony out."

The reaction James had was exactly the one that his two friends had expected.

"What? She...what? How could she...ask Moony..."

James collapsed in a chair. "Well, at least Moony refused," he said, leaning back and closing his eyes, looking thoroughly miserable.

"I didn't." said Remus, expecting the worst.

"YOU WHAT? YOU KNOWINGLY AGREED TO DATE LILY EVANS WHEN I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET HER TO GO OUT WITH ME SINCE SECOND YEAR?"

"You went about it the entirely wrong way mate. Face it, you ruined your chances with her in first year before you even liked her."

"It's just as friends," said Remus. "We're going to study."

This did not quell their infuriated friend. James looked murderous.

Remus and Sirius sighed, and waited for their friend Peter to come back up from the kitchens. It was going to be yet another long night.

* * *

So...review! I will update soon, within a week. If you give me reviews I will update faster :P :)

-A Diamond in the Rough


	2. Chapter 2

So, just thought I'd try my hand at a Jily story, tell me what you think!

* * *

I own nothing, all recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling.

* * *

Review! Please! It would make me very happy.

* * *

James had been very grumpy that day. He kept on shooting irritated glances at Remus. The four had been up in the common room planning their next monthly adventure (which was scheduled to take place five days after the practical) when Lily and Alice had come down from the girls' dormitories. Lily had come to sit beside Remus with a shy smile and her Transfiguration textbook and James had ground his teeth.

He knew that every time he pranked Lily or Alice, Lily would promptly find herself a boyfriend with the full understanding that they would only go out with each other for a week; yet what she had done yesterday felt more serious. As if he had pushed her one step too far. And she was going to make him miserable by dating one of his best friends and quite likely shooting him looks that plainly said, _It could have been you, if you hadn't been such an arrogant tosser._

As if she wanted to go out with Remus not just to get back at him, but because she really wanted to get to know Remus.

Growling internally, he smashed his fist into his other hand.

"You all right, Prongs?" Sirius said, looking over at him. "Breakfast will be soon, don't worry."

"I'm not worrying about breakfast," said James. The sight of Remus and Lily together discussing the long-anticipated midterm examination was almost too much for him to bear.

"Then what are you...oh..." Sirius looked at Remus and Lily. Remus was sitting in an armchair and Lily on its wide arm. They were both bending over the same book and Lily's long auburn hair was drifting near Remus's cheek.

James made a hissing noise like a pot of tea left to boil too long.

"Oi! Selwyn!" he said, looking across at Alice, who was curled like a cat in her chair, lazily looking out the window.

"Yeah, Potter?"

"Go out with me Sunday?"

"Of course I will!"

This silenced everybody. Lily looked at Alice, looking betrayed. Sirius's mouth dropped open. Peter looked up from his box of chocolates. Remus raised his head, looked between James and Alice, and then went back to his book.

"You will?" asked James.

"If I were an arrogant attention-seeking prat, then sure. But I'm not, so no."

Lily and Alice grinned. James looked hurt. At once an apologetic look crossed Alice's face, and she opened her mouth as if to say that she was sorry. James abruptly got up, and then vanished up the staircase.

"I'm going after him," said Alice. She ran after him, only to be stopped by Frank Longbottom's restraining hand. "Don't. He wants to be alone."

"How do you know?" asked Alice, obviously worried. Even the fact that Frank Longbottom, whom she had fancied since third year, was talking to her, did not faze her from the fact that someone had just fled the room stricken by her words. That was just how kind of a soul Alice was.

"I just do. Don't, Alice."

Alice relented and sighed.

When the clock struck seven, everyone in the common room gave a sigh of relief and went down for breakfast.

* * *

"Look, Lily," said Remus as they walked to the Great Hall.

"Yes?"

"This can't turn into anything romantic," said Remus hurriedly. "James would-"

That was the wrong thing to say. Lily flared out at him. "So because of James Potter, my whole years at Hogwarts have been filled with annoyance! He insulted me in first year! He humiliated me in second! In third he pestered me nonstop, and in fourth he spied on me-and in fifth he-he-"

Lily burst into tears.

"Broke you and Severus apart," murmured Remus. Lily nodded.

"I still love Sev. I always will, he's my brother, but he broke my heart. He literally told me I was the scum on his shoes, and I know he was hurt. I forgave him in the end, but by then it was too late. He was too close to those other Slytherins," Lily cried harder. "I lost my best friend because of James Potter and my pride. James Potter ruined my life," she whispered. "And now he's going to take away the only boy I ever liked."

"I can't be the fir-"

"You are!" said Lily, no longer crying. "And I know I'm seventeen and that's crazy, but you are. I'm sorry, Remus, that I ever put you in this position."

"Don't be." said Remus.

"I am. I made you choose between me and a friend."

"No." Remus waved his wand and a green rose fell into his hand.

"Lily Violet Evans," he said, "will you go out with me?"

"A green rose, Remus? Really?"

"Yeah. Better than red. So, will you?"

Lily smiled.

"With all my heart."

* * *

After breakfast, Lily was in a topping mood. She smiled at all the professors, and was generally bubbly. Her cheering charm was so strong that Ranjan Patil went into fits of hysterical laughter and a Silencing Charm had to be put on him. She even forgot to check her food for pranks, not that it would matter, as the main plotter behind them was too gloomy to play a single trick.

"How could you, Remus?" James asked at lunchtime.

"If you'd heard her, and you were me, you would have to. You haven't got any idea, have you, James, about how much you've hurt her? How much you crushed her when you tore her and Snape apart? How much you humiliated her when you exploded her prize potion? How much you...oh, I can't even describe it. I was going to say I couldn't date her because you would be heartbroken, and then it all came out, about how much you have done to her. After you took him, she couldn't let you take me."

"But you don't feel for her, Remus, not in that way."

"I've told her I don't like her as more than just a friend, it's fine with her."

"Fine. But no...hanky panky."

"James, shut it. I won't. She knows it, I know it, and after knowing me for seven years you should too."

* * *

So...review! I will update soon, within a week. If you give me reviews I will update faster :P :)

-A Diamond in the Rough


	3. Chapter 3

So, just thought I'd try my hand at a Jily story, tell me what you think! la la la la ala lalalala alala al ala al la la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la laa la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la I am a very happy person and I know it, a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

* * *

I own nothing, all recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling.

* * *

Review! Please! It would make me very happy.

* * *

"Harry, pay attention," hissed Hermione, jerking Harry's hand out from under his chin. Harry's head hit the desk and he groaned loudly.

"Heeerrrmiiiooooooooneeeee. Whaduhaftapulmahedut," he mumbled.

"Don't know what you're saying mate." said Ron, dozing off beside him. Fortunately, his head was already on his desk and Hermione had to slap him on the head with her rolled-up notes to get him to wake up.

"Why'd you have to pull my hand out from under my face, Hermione," said Harry.

"It's Charms, Hermione, not like anyone cares..." moaned Ron.

"You two should pay attention! These charms are very important, and I'm sure that if you didn't know them through and through you wouldn't have a chance on your N. E. W. T.'s, do you want to pass them or no-aaaggggh!"

At once there was an ominous cracking sound from the large window right behind them. The three looked around to see a pure black owl lying dazed on the windowsill, clutching a letter in its feet. Hermione quickly opened the window, and dragged the owl in, laying it carefully on the place where Ron's head had just been. Harry pulled the letter out from between its toes and then looked at the envelope.

"It isn't addressed," he said in surprise.

"Open it," said Ron, who was waving his notes over the poor owl's face in an attempt to bring it back to consciousness.

Harry did.

_Dear Albus, _the letter read,

_Your mission is a very dangerous one. I suggest you use this carefully. As the one who taught you, I can say that I know that meddling with the course of fate is not an advisable thing to do. Your quest is noble, and I pray you use this well. _

_Best, _

_Tempus._

"Tempus? Who's that?" asked Ron.

"No idea," said Hermione. She reached into the envelope again and pulled out a soft velvet packet. She was about to open it when-

"Hold on!" cried Harry, catching her hand. "We don't know what it is. If this Tempus bloke is telling _Dumbledore _to be careful, it's either incredibly powerful or very dangerous."

"Both, probably," said Ron.

"So, what do we do?"

"Take it up to the Room of Requirement. This evening, seven o' clock," said Harry.

"Okay. You'll be there, right Ron?"

"Of course."

* * *

1977

"_Lily, I love you, Lily, I do, when we're apart my heart beats only for you! Your eyes are so beautiful, your air is so wise, your cold exterior is only a silly disguise!"_

__James Potter was singing in the shower.

Loudly.

"Shut up, Prongs," Sirius bellowed, flopping over onto his stomach and putting his pillow over his head. "Some sane people are trying to SLEEP!"

Peter snored.

"Well, besides Peter!"

* * *

1996

That night at seven, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were in the Room of Requirement. Ginny was there too, looking quite disgruntled. Ron had seen her and Dean Thomas in the corridor and promptly yanked her along with them.

"Okay...open it now," said Harry.

The other three gathered around Hermione as she opened the little flap of the velvet bag and drew out...

"A time turner," said Ron.

"Made of pure diamond," said Hermione. "They're incredibly rare. One hasn't been seen since Voldemort destroyed them when he first came into power."

"Why?" asked Ginny.

"Apparently he didn't want anyone going back in time and stopping his rise to power, especially Dumbledore. Normal gold ones like the one I used in third year can only take you one day forward, or one day back."

"Oh."

They stared sitting and staring at the time-turned for a little while.

At once, Hermione gasped. "The date on it is 1977!"

"1977?" asked Harry.

"Yes. Oh no..."

"What is it?" asked Harry.

"It's set to go off in exactly two seco-"

The room went black. It was as if the floor fell away; suns and stars seemed to rush past them, and then the surroundings returned. Only they weren't those of the Room of Requirement.

They were in the Gryffindor's boys' dormitory.

Five astounded faces stared back at them.

"Sweet mother of Merlin." gasped Ginny.

"Who are you?" asked James, looking at Harry. "You look just like me."

"Sirius?" asked Harry in a pained whisper.

"How do you know my name?" asked Sirius.

"1977, Harry," said Hermione.

Harry passed out.

"Oh, bloody hell," swore Ron.

* * *

So...review! I will update soon, within a week. If you give me reviews I will update faster :P :) And Sev and Lily are going to make up!Imagine Harry's reaction when he finds out that his mum is in love with and dating Remus Lupin! ahahahah! I'm evil, am I not? He'll probably pass out again at that point.

-A Diamond in the Rough


	4. Chapter 4

So, just thought I'd try my hand at a Jily story, tell me what you think! la la la la ala lalalala alala al ala al la la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la laa la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la I am a very happy person and I know it, a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la I am a very happy person and I know it, a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

* * *

I own nothing, all recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling.

* * *

Review! Please! It would make me very happy.

* * *

The next morning, Lily woke refreshed. The cool winter sunlight was filtering through the drapes of the three windows in the room. She was up before anyone else and she lazily watched their dormitory portrait (which happened to be a portrait of Udric the Ubbly, wearing a jellyfish as a hat.) Contrary to popular belief, however, Udric was not weird at all, despite the fact that his hat was a medusa named Medusine. He was in fact a very sane person, and was Lily's favorite portrait in the castle.

It was a beautiful Saturday, and Lily had planned that she and Alice were going down to the lake to finish off their homework along with Proserpine Mathis and Mary MacDonald, their other two dorm-mates. Snow and cold, after all, were not any trouble when you were a witch and the winter wonderland about you was just too beautiful to resist for long.

Udric was snoring softly when the image of the fat lady came storming into his portrait. "Wake up, Udric!"He didn't stir.

The Fat Lady sighed. "Drat him. Lily, my dear, there's a message for you from the Head's office. You are to go and see Professor Dumbedore immediately."

Wondering what the headmaster could possibly have to say to her (they had never really spoken that much, after all) Lily dressed quickly in a thick blue sweater and a pair of loose, comfortable jeans. She brushed out her long red hair and left it loose, and after thanking the Fat Lady, she set off to Dumbledore's office. Humming "Eidelweiss," as she walked, she soon arrived at the gargoyle that Dumbledore lived behind. She spoke the password, "Cadbury's Milk," and entered the room, to find Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore sitting on either side of the large desk, both looking extremely grave and sad.

"Please sit down, Lily," said Professor McGonagall.

Lily sat, noting that she had not been called Miss Evans.

"I am very sorry to tell you this," said Dumbledore somberly, "but Harold and Iris Evans were killed in an automobile accident yesterday night at seven-thirty."

Lily sat stock still. Of course he must be mistaken. Her parents never drove at night if they could help it. It had been a rule that the Evans family had followed despite the perpetual grumbling of her father.

"No, they never drive at night," said Lily, shaking her head.

"Your sister asked them to go out and buy something or other for her wedding-" Lily's face darkened; Petunia had made sure to have her wedding while she was at school to make sure that Lily couldn't come-"and they did indeed go out at night, and their car was hit by an intoxicated driver. They never regained consciousness, but before your mother went into coma at the site of the accident, she asked the people in the back of the accident-vehicle..I'm not sure what they are called...to tell you somehow that she and your father would always, always love you."

Lily got up and then sat down again.

"Miss Evans, are you all right?"

_I'm going to fix this. _

"Miss Evans?" McGonagall was beginning to look worried, staring into her blank face and empty, frozen eyes. "Albus, call Poppy, she's gone into shock."

_I can't let it happen. _

_My parents can't die. _

No.

McGonagall now looked frantic. "Lily! Lily, my dear, please look at me."

_Why'd they go?_

_It wasn't their time. _

_I'll be damned if I sit and snivel..._McGonagall tried to hold her, while Dumbledore put his head in the fire and called for Madam Pomfrey. Lily slapped herself for using the word that had helped to tear her and Severus apart. Damn Potter.

_No._

_"No!" _cried Lily aloud, and got up, fleeing the room. She ran into someone outside...

"Evans? What're you..." Lily caught a glimpse of James Potter's face. His changed from puzzled to worried faster than a set of traffic lights could change from red to green. "LILY!" He tried to catch her, after one look at her hard, determined, stricken face. It was a hard desperation that he was seeing now, and that frightened him far more than tears ever could.

"Lily, you're scaring me, please tell me what's wrong?" If she'd stopped to listen, she would have heard concern and fear in his voice, things that she had never heard from his mouth before.

"Get out of my way, Potter," she hissed, and James took a step back, surprised at the venom in her voice. "You've ruined my life enough. Aren't you happy now?"

She fled.

Not noticing the thunderstruck faces of four students whom, she would have known if she had looked at them, she had never seen before.

* * *

Lily was running, as fast as she possibly could. Her hair was streaming behind her, and she stumbled over trick stairs and vanishing hallway blocks, but she did not care.

When she reached the place she was looking for, she walked past it three times, thinking, _I need to bring them back. _

The door opened and Lily entered, looking around.

Even in her current state, the room around her dazzled her. Time-turners were everywhere, of all different sorts and shapes. There were gold ones, silver ones, diamond ones, and in every precious stone possible.

However, the time turner that caught her attention was about the size of a bludger. It was set on a pedestal in the middle of the room, and there was something slightly insubstantial about it, as if it were made of smoke and water rather than out of something solid. As she walked toward it, she saw that under the time-turner there was a plaque, telling its function. She had noticed that all the shelves of time-turners had them.

_The Death Time-Turner. _

Lily blinked, and then read on.

_This time turner is unique in that it reads the regrets of the one who uses it. A person who successfully uses a death time-turner will go back to the time when their regrets began, into the same body that they had at that point, with all their memories intact. The person will then know enough to change the future, but once this is used, there is no going back to one's own time. A future that you effect by leaving into the past through the time turner will not truly be. Only what you do after you have left does. _

_The time-turner does not need to be turned, but it needs to be in the hands of the one who uses it..._

Lily rejoiced. This was exactly what she needed.

_...when the person willingly goes to their death. _

Wait, _what_?

Lily's blood was pounding through her veins. She knew where she'd be taken back.

She'd be taken back to the day where Severus had first appeared and told her what she was.

With her plan now, she was going to stay friends with Severus. And save him from becoming a Death Eater.

She was going to stay Petunia's dearest confidante.

She was going to save her parents.

She was going to save Petunia from meeting that walrus of a Vernon Dursley.

And the reason was simple.

When her Hogwarts letter came, she was going to turn it down so that Tuney wouldn't feel jealous or left out. She would buy a wand; she knew where to exchange money after all. She knew how to apparate, so she could do it in her eleven-year-old body, too. She would live her life as a witch in secret, because Lily had learned the hard way that when it came to family and friends, there wasn't anything more precious. Any if anyone came to take her want for doing underage spells, well then, she could stop them. She and her family could relocate somewhere far away, and she could apparate back every week to see Sev.

Oh, it was all so simple, really.

_I need a way to get to the Astronomy tower without being seen. _

It was time for Lily to fix all the mistakes she'd ever made, with the biggest one going to Hogwarts and splitting her already tiny family into pieces.

* * *

When James, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny got back to the dormitory, all of them were tired from their run and worried.

"Where'd she go?" asked Harry.

"Why do you care about Evans so much, Adieu?" asked James. The four time travelers had decided to rename themselves Philippe Adieu (Harry) Isabelle Arnaud (Hermione) and Raoul and Renee Jolivet (Ron and Ginny) four Beauxbatons students who had just mysteriously appeared in Hogwarts . "You don't know her."

"Uhh...no..." Hermione had changed his eye color to blue almost immediately after they arrived so that James wouldn't get suspicious. "It's just that she looked worried and at our school...the polite thing to do if a lady is upset is to take 'er to the kitchens and have ze 'ouse elves give 'er some _chocolat__."_

Hermione, Ron, and Ginny stared at him in amazement; he was mimicking a French accent to perfection.

_Think Fleur, _he mouthed at them.

They all nodded. It was strange how easy it was to simulate Fleur's accent.

"Get the map," said James distractedly. "See where she is, Padfoot."

Sirius looked over the Marauder's Map, a lot less yellowed now than it was in Harry's day.

"She's not on here, Prongs. Not at all; she's vanished off the map."

Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione glanced at each other uneasily, knowing perfectly well where Lily must be.

"Wait, she just appeared in the Astronomy tower. She's alone. And she just appeared like she'd apparated."

"But you can't apparate in or out of 'Ogwarts," said Hermione. Harry face-palmed. Trust Hermione to forget that she was supposed to know nothing about Hogwarts and remember that she was supposed to speak with a French accent. But then again, Hermione could really speak French.

"How do you know that?" asked Peter suspiciously. Harry was hard-put not to pull out his wand and jinx him right then and there. The scar on the underside of his arm where Wormtail had cut him two years ago started to tingle.

"Zere are books in Beauxbatons too, seely boy," said Hermione with a tinkling laugh.

"She's getting closer and closer to the balcony," said Sirius, who was still watching the map. "She's...wait...she's off the balcony...or no, she's just sitting on the balcony railing."

"Remus should go and comfort her, maybe find out what's wrong," said Peter.

"Why Remus?" asked Harry. His parents had been dating since seventh year (according to Sirius and Lupin) so why didn't he go? Then he remembered how Lily had reacted outside Dumbledore's office. They were probably in a fight.

"He's her boyfriend," said James.

Harry fainted.

* * *

Lily was sitting on the railing, and at once, stood up on it. She was going to count down from ten and then jump.

_Ten.__..._

She would never have to leave her older sister.

_Nine.__..._

She wasn't going to stop being friends with Severus.

_Eight.__..._

She could be sure that he wouldn't become a death eater.

_Seven.__..._

Petunia wasn't going to have to meet Vernon. Lily chuckled a little at that.

_Six.__..._

She would be able to be with her family.

_Five.__..._

She would never have to meet James Potter.

_Four.__..._

They wouldn't have to move to Manchester.

_Three.__..._

She was going to be happy. Everything would come right.

_Two..._

Her parents were going to live, they'd be together...

_One._

Lily jumped.

* * *

On the other side of the castle, Sirius cried out in panic,

"Lily jumped off the Astronomy tower!"


	5. Chapter 5

So, just thought I'd try my hand at a Jily story, tell me what you think! la la la la ala lalalala alala al ala al la la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la laa la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la I am a very happy person and I know it, a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la I am a very happy person and I know it, a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la a la la la la la la la la la la! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

* * *

I own nothing, all recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling. I love all of you.

* * *

Review! Please! It would make me very happy.

* * *

At that sentence, James sprang up and grabbed his broomstick, throwing himself from the tower window.

"Where are you going?" Sirius yelled after him.

"Saving Lily! Send Patronuses!"

Sirius nodded and muttered, "Expecto Patronum!" At once a large silver dog stood wagging its tail before them.

"Dumbledore, McGonagall, Pomfrey." Then he spoke in a voice barely veiling tears, "Lily jumped from the Astronomy tower...help."

The large dog seemed to nod and then split into three dogs, which then jumped out the window after James.

"Oh bloody hell, Harry," muttered Ron with an ashen face, "wake up."

Harry did. "Dumbledore," he said stupidly, "have to get to Dumbledore."

"If we get to the hospital wing, he'll probably be there, along with McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey."

They all left the dormitory, clattering down the stairs, sprinting across the common room, and down the hallway, arriving in the hospital wing just as Dumbledore levitated Lily in. Harry gulped.

Lily was covered in blood. Her arms were positioned at a strange angle. Her eyes were closed and her auburn hair was matted with scarlet.

"Is she alive?" Harry asked Stupidly. Dumbledore looked over at him strangely. "Who are you?"

"Philippe Adieu, Isabella Arnaud, and Raoul and Renee Jolivet," said Ron.

"They're from that French school, they just appeared in out dormitory," said Remus.

"Is she alive?" asked Harry again.

"Yes, she is...but..."

"What happened?" asked Professor McGonagall, running into the hospital wing. She ran to Lily's side, looking at the bloodstained sheets and the copious bottles of blood-replenishing potions and skele-gro that Madam Pomfrey had brought out. Pomfrey had shrouded Lily in a silver haze with her wand, which she said would keep Lily's heart beating until she could start treatment.

"She..." James erupted in choking sobs. "She jumped, I don't know what happened. She was trying to-"

"She was trying to kill herself," murmured McGonagall.

"Is she going to pull through?" asked Sirius.

"Yes; she will be all right in a few hours. Go! All of you! Jolivet-Arnaud, and Adieu-go to he Headmaster's office."

* * *

Lily awoke in utter silence and darkness. She had no idea where she was; only she seemed to be floating in space.

_If this is how it is to be dead, maybe it is not so bad._

She opened her eyes and looked around. Surroundings seemed to form out of the darkness; those of the hospital wing.

Wait just one moment.

The hospital wing?

She had meant to go to the year 1970 before everything went wrong for her, for Severus, for Tuney, for her family. Her own tiny family that consisted of just those four people. Was she still stuck in 1977? What had happened? How did anyone even find her at the bottom of the Astronomy Tower at that time of night?

She got up, noting in surprise that she could stand and that she seemed to be whole. Quickly, she looked over at her bedside table, searching for her wand, then realizing that she had left it in her dormitory when she had gone out...whenever it was that she had been summoned by Professor Dumbledore.

She ran, out the doors, and down the steps she had once been able to walk freely. Ignoring all the jeers, the catcalls, the hisses of "filthy mudblood."

She was going to the Slytherin Common Room.

* * *

Severus Snape was woken from his sleep by a persistent banging on his door. He sat up, fumbling for his wand, and pointed it at the door.

"Who's there?" he asked.

"It's me, Lily," said the slightly breathless voice he had loved so much.

Not hesitating for even a second, Severus strode across the room in his black pajamas, and threw the door open. It was indeed Lily standing there, looking tired.

"Lily," he whispered, half-longingly, half-concerned. "What are you-"

Severus never got to finish his sentence. She threw her arms around him, just as she had done back when they were children. His nostrils were immediately filled with the scent of-

"Lily, where have you been?" he asked.

She did not meet his eyes.

"No, tell me _now. _What have you done?"

She began to shake, began to cry. "My parents-dead-" Severus did not wait for her to finish her words. He cast a quick Muffliato on the room and then guided her toward his bed, where she sat down numbly.

"I found...death time-turner...I was going to stop it from happening, and I could fix it, fix Tuney...fix you..."

"I don't know what you mean...tell me later when you feel better." he said, even as he rocked her soothingly. "I've-"

"I know," she said. She sat up to look at him, her eyes blazing. "And _I don't care. _It's my fault-completely and entirely mine. You haven't...you haven't taken the mark yet, have you?"

His shocked expression was more than enough, and then a strangled, "No-_never!"_

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

"Let's just sleep," said Severus. Wondering what had happened to the Lily who had scorned him angrily when they were outside the Gryffindor common room. "You know, like when we were kids at your house on a sleepover. We'll sleep in here and say what we'll do when we go to Hogwarts."

Lily laughed softly. "We already are here, silly."

"Pretend we're ten, just for one night," he said, lying back on his pillow so Lily could have room to lie down beside him.

"Won't be too hard," said Lily, snuggling her face into the soft pillow.

"I'm sorry, Lily," he whispered, so softly that she did not hear him.

"Will we ever get back those years we lost, Sev?" asked Lily, drifting off to sleep. "Those years I just...blew away our friendship like the dandelione we used to wish on?"

"It doesn't matter, not now," said Severus. "Shh, go to sleep..."

"No!" protested Lily, sitting up.

"What?"

"You start," said Lily expectantly.

Severus smiled.

"When I go to Hogwarts, I'll find a spell that will make my mum and dad stop fighting."

"When I go to Hogwarts, I'll learn how to fly."

"When I go to Hogwarts, I will grow magical lilies that never wither."

"When I go to Hogwarts, I'll get enough money to buy the necklace for Tuney that she wanted from Wool's."

"When I go to Hogwarts, I'll learn what magic really is, because mum never uses it anymore..."

"When I go to Hogwarts, I'll find the real you," said Lily, almost asleep.

"What?"

"You were always so...so...so...withdrawn. Quiet. Except when we went to the meadows or to that glade where Tuney found us the first time. I thought, when we got here, I'd really find you."

With that, Lily sighed softly and fell asleep.

Severus remained awake for a little while longer, letting his face roam over the milk-white cheeks, tiny golden freckles, and dark red hair.

"Is this real, Lils?" he said, before closing his eyes. "Are you really here beside me, have you really forgiven me? What made you do it?"

She did not stir.

"I would have thought you would have been angry at the world after what just happened."

But Lily was never a person who would do that.

"But you are perfect..." His voice was wondering. "As you always were."

_Is this vision truly mine?_

_Or is her good will lent to me for only one night?_

_Will she be gone when I wake up..._

Or maybe, _he thought, _she'll still be there, and this won't have been a dream.

Just maybe.


	6. NOTE

So sorry that the stories haven't been updated lately! This is Lily's husband, Vic (Lily is A Diamond in the Rough btw, for those of you who didn't know)

Lily came down with a really bad E. Coli infection and she went into coma earlier this morning; she was throwing up so much that she couldn't eat or sleep and eventually she passed out. While we were in the hospital she got a really bad reaction to one of the medicines and went into coma, which is what we found out a few hours ago.

However, she came out after her antibiotics were changed. She hasn't woken up yet but she's not actually in coma anymore, she's just asleep and plus they've given her something in the IV to keep her sleeping for a few more hours. There was a huge risk of heart attacks, hemorrhaging, and even her dying, but she's going to be okay now, I don't know what I'd do if she weren't.

She will be in the hospital for some time now, they will probably discharge her on Saturday night at the very very earliest, the doctors say that she should stay there until at least Monday or Tuesday. She'll be waaaaaaaay to tired to update for a while, she's not been able to hold down solid food for two days, she's hooked up to an IV port, etc.

Earlier, when she was conscious and the doctors thought she wouldn't make it, she told me to say goodbye to all her fanfiction readers for her. But, thank God, she'll be here. I love her so much, if she died, I'd not wait a second before killing myself. A world without my wife in it wouldn't be one worth living in, and I couldn't bear to exist without her.

Hoping you guys are all okay, and healthy!

Victor Johns.


	7. Chapter 7

SO SORRY I TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE!

I promise i will never leave you on such a hiatus again.

:)

I had E. Coli in early October and my recovery period was pretty long.

But I'm back.

Enjoy!

* * *

Severus was laughing as he and Lily walked up to the dungeons. Lily was smiling too, but a sadness was lurking in her eyes. Severus seemed to see this and he took Lily's hand.

"You know you'll see them again, Lily," he said.

Lily sighed and held his hand silently. "I hope so."

"You promise you won't be taking any more jumps off that tower, don't you?"

"No."

"Good, because if you did, I'd have to follow you straightaway."

* * *

Harry, James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were all worried. Lily had mysteriously vanished from the hospital wing and James had not been able to find her on the map.

"Where the heck did she go?"

"No idea." said Harry, his voice worried. He had dropped his French accent, but nobody had noticed.

"What about the roar?" asked Ginny in an undertone. R-O-R was short for the Room of Requirement.

"Maybe. I don't think so, though, Renee," said Harry, remembering her French name just in time.

"Let's just go up to breakfast," suggested Hermione. "Maybe she's there, and we're just missing her."

"Fair point," said Ron. "C'mon."

The eight of them went downstairs and yawned profusely as they went. The four marauders, of course, made a beeline for the Gryffindor table. The others stood quietly at the front, scanning the double line of Gryffindor students for Lily.

"Can't see her anywhere," whispered Ron.

"Neither can I," said Hermione, whose head was bobbing this way and that.

Harry scanned the other tables. It was quite possible that she hadn't wanted to face Gryffindor right then after what had happened (whatever it was that had happened) and had decided to sit with friends from other houses. He first looked at the Hufflepuff table, but no head of flaming scarlet hair was to be seen. He then regarded the blue-clad Ravenclaws (apparently, there was to be a match that day) and, again, saw nothing. Then he turned his eyes to the Slytherin table.

Sitting near the front, her head upon someone's shoulder, was his mother. She looked torn, anguished; she had a plate full of bacon, eggs, hash browns, and strawberries in front of her, but her fork lay abandoned on her table. It appeared that whoever she was sitting with had managed to make her eat some bacon, as one of the rashers had been bitten off at the top. She held in her hands a steaming mug of hot chocolate with a generous dollop of whipped cream with cinnamon on the top, and a cream wafer and a peppermint stick had been put into the cup. Every so often, at the urging of the person beside her, she would take a small sip from the large white cocoa mug and halfheartedly lick the foam away from her upper lip.

Harry drew closer. The boy-for he could see now that it was a boy who held her-was slight and black haired, his eyes downcast upon Lily's wavy head. She wore a pair of scarlet pajamas, as did half the Gryffindor table; she was a stark contrast to the impeccably ironed and starched uniforms of most of the Slytherins, and the green, white, and silver of those who had risen too late to have time to dress before coming down to breakfast.

His eyes widened. The boy whose shoulder Lily's head rested on had lifted his face.

It was Snape.

Harry passed out.

* * *

Those three words *hary passed out* god they are so fun to write

promise, ill never take so long to update again!

Review! :D


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